Tuna

In Uehonmachi, a new shop, "Tuna" has opened. Their name is 綱, pronounced "tsuna" in Japanese, but I guess they chose "Tuna" because they make seafood ramen? Wrong. Straight up shoyu chuka soba for this joint, but what's in a name, anyway?

上本町に「綱」という店ができました。綱の字何ですけど、英字で「TUNA」と書いてあります。魚系ラーメンだからかな？違います。中華そば専門店です。でも、名前は何でもいいじゃないですか？

The Bowl
This ramen was reminiscent of Takaida-kei bowls, the super dark and salty shoyu from the east of Osaka. Unlike those bowls, though, Tuna's broth was much smoother, making it easier to drink, but with the downside that the smooth, ropey noodles were a bit too thick for the soup.  The menma were a bit peppery, an unusual but welcome addition, and a single thin slice of juicy chashu topped the bowl.

けっこう高井田系ラーメンに似ていました。でも、普通の高井田系と違って、スープがまろやかで飲みやすかったです。その一方、麺がちょっと太くて味がうすかったです。メンマに黒こしょうがかけられて意外とうまかったです。最後に、ジューシーチャーシュー一枚が乗っていました。

Would I Go Again?
Maybe, it was solid but I'm not in a rush to return.

おいしかったですけど、また行くかもしれません。

Should You Go?
This shop would be good for anyone who wants to try a version of Takaida-kei ramen that is very drinkable.

けっこう飲みやすい高井田系ラーメンなので、それに興味ある方におすすめします。

Information
麺処 綱（TUNA）

Watanabe Seimen

For a random part of Osaka, Uehonmachi has quite a few interesting ramen shops. Located between Osaka'a Koreatown Tsuruhashi and electronics district Nipponbashi, Uehonmachi is most notable for its rundown mall Hihi Town. Just a few blocks away, though, is a tsukemen shop, Watanabe Seimen.

Watanabe Seimen offered four different kinds of soup and two different kinds of noodles. There was the original gyokai tonkotsu, plus a veggie potage, a spicy minced meat, and a curry one. Yes, I wanted all of them. But, for my first time, I had to go with the standard. For noodles, there were simply thick and medium-thick, so I went with the thick ones.

上本町には面白い物はそんなにありませんけど、ラーメン屋さんが最近何軒か出来ています。上本町はハイハイタウンで有名ですけど、ちょっと離れている渡辺製麺というつけ麺専門手があります。

渡辺製麺が四つの種類のスープを提供しています。豚骨魚介・ベジポタ・辛肉ミンチ・カレー味ありました。全て食べてみたかったです。でも、初めてなのでオリジナルの豚骨魚介に注文しました。あと太麺か中太麺から太麺にしました。

With four kinds of soup, I'm tempted to come back to try them all.

スープ四つ種類があるので全て食べてみたいです。

The Bowl
A good gyokai tonkotsu indeed. The broth had a bit of a light flavor, but it was thick enough to stick to the extra thick, chewy noodles. The lightness of the soup was made up for by the yuzushio on the side. It balanced the bowl out a bit, giving the noodles and broth a bit more substance. The chashu was very fatty, and the bowl was finished off by a refreshing and slightly spicy wari-soup containing shichimi.

うまい豚骨魚介でした。スープはとろみがありましたけど、他の豚骨魚介に比べると、ちょっと薄めでした。太麺にあって、柚塩をかけると両方もっとおいしくなってきました。チャーシューもよくて、最後のさっぱりでピリ辛の七味が入っている割りスープが最高でした。

Would I Go Again?
Yes, I still have three soups to try.

まだ三つ種類あるのでまた行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's the best tsukemen shop in the area.

その辺で一番いいつけ麺なので行ったらいいです。

Information
渡辺製麺

Ramen Tatsu

Ramen Tatsu is a shop that had been on my list for a while. At the end of 2012 it sprung up as another fish-based ramen shop, and it looked interesting. I even headed over to Uehonmachi to pay it a visit, only to find it was closed for no reason. But here I am, back again in Uehonmachi, and it's time to finally try it. They offered the Tatsu ramen and the "Goku", super, Tatsu ramen. I went with the Goku.

しばらくらー麺達に行きたかったです。２０１２年末に出来て、面白そうな魚介系ラーメン屋さんでした。上本町まで行きましたけど、たまたましまっていたので、入れませんでした。でも、ようやく上本町に戻って行けました。達らー麺と極達らー麺がありました。もちろん極にしました。

The Bowl
What an interesting bowl. The broth was clear, which normally makes me think of a light, shio ramen, but it was instead a thick, gyokai tonkotsu soup. It was a really good balance of meaty and fishy; similar to some of my favorite places, but leaning more towards the fish end. The noodles were thin and soft; they stuck together, making them easy to eat in clumps. The chashu was barbecued right in front of me with a blowtorch, and tasted as good as it looked.

やっぱ面白いラーメンでした。スープは透明でした。普通に透明なスープをみると、あっさりな塩のイメージがするんですけど、このラーメンはとろりがある魚介豚骨でした。バランスがよく出来ました。他の好きな魚介系ラーメンみたいでしたけど、さらに魚の味がしました。麺は細くて柔らかくて、食べやすかったです。目の前で炙ったチャーシューは見た目のようにうまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this place was great.

おいしかったのでまた行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes, Tatsu helps round out a weirdly delicious Uehonmachi.

ラー麺達のおかげで、上本町がだんだんおいしい店が増えてきました。

Information
らー麺 達

Tomako

Sometimes you have to eat some crazy ramen. I was walking to a shop in Uehonmachi that recently opened by an ex-chef of Tamagoro. Although their site guaranteed they would be open for lunch, the sign in front of their shop disagreed. Luckily, I had a backup nearby.

Another recently opened shop, Tomako is a tomato ramen shop located in the not-so-fashionable Uehonmachi Hihi Town mall. I've had my share of tomato ramen before and enjoyed it, so I wanted to try something interesting. I asked the employee there what she recommended, and she mentioned that they had a hot pepper bowl, but it would be too spicy for most people. Well, you can't say that and expect me to not get it.

Information
とまこ
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Tennōji-ku, Uehonmachi, ６丁目３−３１

The Bowl
I was promised a bowl of hot peppers and a bowl of hot peppers is exactly what I got. The broth was fatty, oily, hot and spicy. Oh yeah, and there was lots of tomato in there too. There were chunks of onions and tomato floating around as well. The soup was pretty spicy and reminded me of rayu a bit; the noodles were thin and oily, but their spice was a bit more digestible. To top it off, there was some basil in the ramen - this was great and I wish there had been more of it.

The employee gawked at me as I not only drank the soup, but ate most of the hot peppers. Probably not a great idea for my stomach, but I don't regret it.

Would I Go Again?
It was interesting, but I still have some other tomato ramen places to try, so I won't be back.

Should You Go?
If you're crazy enough to eat hot pepper tomato ramen, then give it a go, but otherwise you're probably better off sticking with one of the other tomato shops in town.